10-inch LP. Credited to the Elektra-Stratford Record Corp at 361 Bleeker Street, New York City. In the sleeve notes to the Rhino compilation CD ("Mountain Hearth and Home" - Rhino Handmade RHM2 7867) Jac Holzman writes that the recordings on this LP had been made by Edward Tatnall Candy over a period of time and that different recordings were at slightly different speeds.

At the time of the Jean Ritchie LP, Jac Holzman was so young that her contract was signed by Jac as 'a minor' represented by his father, Dr Jacob Holzman.

This is where the story really starts after the 'diversion' of EKLP 1. There were a few Jac Holzman 78s of folk music including sides by Jean Ritchie ("Old Virginny" c/w Jubillee" with number JH 502), Frank Warner ("Battle of Bull Run"/"Unreconstructed Rebel" c/w "Got the Whole World in His Hand"/"Hold My Hand Lord Jesus" starting the series with number JH 501 and "Gilgarry Mountain" c/w "Blue Mountain Lake" with number JH 503) and Glenn Yarbrough ("Follow the Drinking Gourd" c/w "The Reapers Ghost" with catalogue number ST-3 and matrix number JH 506 A/B) . Incidentally it was spelled Yarborough on this last disc. Some of these 78s were badged 'Stratford' (eg the Yarbrough) and some 'New York State Historical Association' (the Ritchie certainly) and I assume that the recordings on the 78s were those used on the relevant LPs, but I don't know for sure until I hear the discs. (Thanks to Joel Bresler and Cary Ginell for the track info.)

This leaves us with a gap in the JH series at 507 and also suggests that the Yarbrough record was released after Elektra started its 10-inch folk series.

American Folk Songs and Ballads — Frank Warner

Elektra EKLP 3 (Mono) - Matrix JH 504 A/B

Released: November 1952

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1

Keep Your Hand on the Plow

Got the Whole World in His Hands

Hold My Hand, Lord Jesus

Lord Lovel

Side 2

Battle of Bull Run

Unreconstructed Rebel

Gilgarry Mountain

Blue Mountain Lake

Tom Dooley

The Days of "49"

10-inch album. Frank was a musicologist and collector and he was responsible for the popularisation of 'Tom Dooley', one of those songs that was eventually done to death during the folk revival.

As mentioned in my note for EKLP 2, some of the songs on this Frank Warner LP were released on 78s: "Battle of Bull Run"/"Unreconstructed Rebel" c/w "Got the Whole World in His Hand"/"Hold My Hand Lord Jesus" on JH 501 and "Gilgarry Mountain" c/w "Blue Mountain Lake" on JH 503. As I don't have copies of the 78s I don't know whether they are the same recordings.

British Traditional Ballads in America Vol 1 — Shep Ginandes

Elektra EKLP 4 (Mono) - Matrix JH 508 A/B

Released: 1953

Side 1

The Golden Willow Tree (Child 286)

The Cruel Mother (Child 20)

Lord Bateman (Child 53)

Side 2

Edward (Child 13)

Lord Randall (Child 12 - Welsh Version)

Lord Thomas and Fair Elinore (Child 73)

10-inch album. Two cover variations: the earlier with a stark black and white drawing with a black stripe angled down the left-hand side with two stringed guiter-like instruments ... and the latter with a colour wash over a line drawing of a 'minstrel' looking over towards a castle. There was no second volume of this disc and only the label mentions the 'Vol 1'.

Voices of Haiti — Various Artists (Not credited)

Elektra EKLP 5 (Mono) - Matrix JH 509 A/B

Released: March 1953

Production: Jac Holzman

Engineering: Maya Deren

Side 1

Creole O Voudoun

Ayazin Marché

Signaléagwé Arroyo

Zulie Banda

Ibo Lélé

Side 2

Ghede Nimbo

Nago Jaco Colcoto

Miro Miba

Po' Drapeaux

10-inch LP with a cover illustration by Teijo Ito. The recordings were made using a wire recorder during ceremonials near Criox-Des-Missions and Pationville in Haiti by Maya Deren. Deren was an avant-garde film maker who had received the first Guggenheim grant for experimental film. With this money she bought the wire recorder used for these recordings, amongst others. The recordings are now held in the Boston University Library's special collections of Maya Deren. Her definitive book on Voudoun, 'Divine Horseman: The Living Gods of Haiti' was also published in 1953.

Turkish and Spanish Folksongs — Cynthia Gooding

Elektra EKLP 6 (Mono) - Matrix JH 510 A/B

Released: April 1953

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1: Turkish Folksongs

Sakarya (Cavalry Song)

Ankaranin Tasina Bak (Prisoners' Chant)

Eminem (Courting Song)

Kâtip (Love Song)

Al Koyun (Shepherd Chant)

Yashi Meral (Mountain Song)

Side 2: Spanish Folksongs

Dondes Vas Rey Alfonsito

Tres Moricas

Anda Diciendo

Conde Olinos

Ay, un Galan

Eres Alta y Delgada

La Molinera

10-inch album. Cover drawing by Maurice Sendak.

There was a Little Tree... American Folksongs for Children — Shep Ginandes

Elektra EKL 7 (Mono) - Matrix JH 511 A/B

Released: 1953

Side 1

There Was a Little Tree

I Went Up on the Mountain Top

The Monkey's Wedding

Billie Boy

I Bought Me a Cat

Side 2

Froggie Went A-Courting

Oh, But I Won't Have Him

Ground Hog

Who Will Shoe My Little Foot

The Mare

10-inch album. Cover variations seen are printed with different coloured ink: 'green/brown' and 'red/pink'.

The cover is by Maurice Sendak and there are more Sendak illustrations in the booklet.

Mexican Folk Songs — Cynthia Gooding

Elektra EKL 8 (Mono) - Matrix JH 512 A/B

Released: June 1953

Production: Jac Holzman and Kenneth S Goldstein

Side 1

La Bamba

La Llorona

Lucrecia

El Palo Verde

La Voltereta

El Arreo

Side 2

Rosita Alvirez

Román Castillo

El Tecolote

General Felipe Angeles

Que Linda Está la Mañana

10-inch album. Heraclio Cordero plays second guitar. The sleeve features a superb line drawing by Maurice Sendak. Two variants known; one has green spot colour for the text and the other has red.

French Traditional Songs — Shep Ginandes

Elektra EKL 9 (Mono) - Matrix JH 513 A/B

Released: November 1953

Production: Jac Holzman and Kenneth S Goldstein

Engineering: Jac Holzman

Side 1

Chevaliers de la Table Ronde

V'l'a l'Bon Vent

J'fais Pipi

Jeanneton

Chanson de Corsaire

Près de la Fontaine

Side 2

Le Joueur de Luth

Ne Pleure Pas, Jeannette

Ma Femme est Morte

Complainte de Mandrin

Les Moines de Saint Bernardin

10-inch album.

O' Lovely Appearance of Death — Hally Wood

Elektra EKL 10 (Mono) - Matrix JH 514 A/B

Released: November 1953

Production: Jac Holzman and Kenneth S Goldstein

Side 1

House of the Rising Sun

When I Was a Young Girl

Pretty Saro

Burns and his Highland Mary

O Lovely Appearance of Death

Side 2

Death Come Creeping

Pretty Polly

Locks and Bolts

My Dearest Dear

King's Highway

O Daddy Be Gay

10-inch LP. Credited to the Elektra-Stratford Record Corp. Lawless lists this as being titled 'American Folksongs of Sadness and Melancholy', which is the title on the label but the subtitle on the sleeve.

The cover was Bill Harvey's first for Elektra - he went on to be art director for the label - although he is quoted as saying he thought this recording was 'the most god-awful music I ever heard'. Bill's son recalls that the drawing was of his young sister Jo-Anne, sleeping.

There's no connection, but there are drawings on the walls of a Metro station in Brussels - Maelbeek - which look uncannily like Bill's line dawing on this sleeve. The booklet includes a photo of Hally, looking very cheerful indeed!

The Queen of Hearts - English Folksongs — Cynthia Gooding

Elektra EKL 11 (Mono) - Matrix JH 515 A/B

Released: November 1953

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1

The Queen of Hearts

Through the Groves

O, Mother Go and Make My Bed

My Only Joe and Dearie, O

Queen Eleanor's Confession

Side 2

The Lowlands of Holland

Once I Had a Sweetheart

The Green Bushes

Strawberry Fair

The Banks of Green Willow

The Sprig of Thyme

The May-Day Carol

10-inch album. Two covers known, one showing a drawing of a young woman in a forest (signed C Brown) and the other based on a playing card motif, as used for the 12-inch reissue on Elektra 131.

Described by Time Magazine (on April 19 1954) as 'An informal collection of old pulse-bumpers, many of them all but forgotten'.

This sleeve is one of Bill Harvey's best illustrations. 10-inch album.

Folk Blues — Sonny Terry

Elektra EKL 14 (Mono) - Matrix JH 518 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

Recorded: New York

Side 1

The Fox Chase

Talking About the Blues

Goodbye Leadbelly

Red River

Side 2

John Henry

Mama Told Me

Moaning and Mourning Blues

In the Evening

10-inch album. Alec Stewart credited on guitar ... but it is actually Alec Seward aka Guitar Slim. [Also released on Vogue LDE 137 and these recordings, or most of them, are the ones that appear on Riverside 644 with Kenneth S Goldstein as producer and Jac Holzman credited as engineer with a recording date of December 1953 in New York.]

'The Fox Chase' explains the origin of the 'Wailin and Whoopin' tour-de-force that Sonny always used to play: the harp is imitating the baying of the hounds as they chase the fox.

City Blues — Sonny Terry and Alec Stewart

Elektra EKL 15 (Mono) - Matrix JH 519 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

Recorded: New York

Side 1

Chain the Lock on my Door (Sonny)

Little Annie (Alec)

Louise Blues (Sonny)

Down in the Bottom Blues (Alec)

Baby, Baby Blues (Sonny)

Side 2

Custard Pie (Sonny)

Kansas City (Sonny)

Late one Saturday Evening (Alec)

Old Woman Blues (Sonny)

Hard Luck Blues (Alec)

10-inch album. The disc matrix numbers accidentally reversed the A and B sides but the labels ignore the mistake and are correct. Alec Stewart is actually Alec Seward aka Guitar Slim.

Also released on Vogue LDE 165 - BBCGLI omits 'Down in the Bottom Blues' but this hasn't been checked against a disc. These recordings, or most of them, are the ones that appear on Riverside 644 - Talkin' 'Bout the Blues - with production credited to Bill Grauer or Kenneth S Goldstein and Jac Holzman credited as engineer.

Of course, despite what the label says, it is 'Changed the Lock on my Door', not 'Chain ...' and although this album is usually billed as a Sonny Terry LP, it is more of a joint effort than EKL 14 as Alec sings some of the songs.

Badmen and Heroes — Ed McCurdy, Jack Elliot and Oscar Brand

Elektra EKL 16 (Mono) - Matrix JH 520 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1: Badmen

Captain Kidd (McCurdy)

Charles Guiteau (Elliot)

Jesse James (McCurdy)

Billy the Kid (Brand)

Quantrell (McCurdy)

Side 2: Heroes

Bold Turpin (McCurdy)

Pretty Boy Floyd (Elliot)

Jim Fisk (Brand)

Jesse James (Elliot)

Robin Hood and the Bold Pedlar (McCurdy)

10-inch album.

The copy of this in my collection refers to Ed McCurdy's 'Sin Songs' LP, which was EKL 24. Since this was released later it may be that this disc has more than one edition.

Italian Folk Songs — Cynthia Gooding

Elektra EKL 17 (Mono) - Matrix JH 521 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1

Quanto Spunta lu Sole

M'Affaccio alla Finestra

Sul Capello

Non Ti Ricordi

Tenete l'Occhio Nero

Bella Ragazza

Tre Amoru

Peschi Fiorenti

O, Balis Tu, Pieri?

Side 2

Sul Ponte di Bassano

Fior di Bombace

Nina

Ses tu Benedeta

El Avvelenato

Chitarra Fiorentina

Canto del Carcerato

10-inch album. All the tracks except 'Chitarra Fiorentina' were reissued as half of EKL 221.

A stereo version of 'Sul Capello' turned up on the stereo sampler SMP-4X but was the original mono recording with an extra instrument added and both panned to create a stereo track.

Pirate Songs and Ballads — Dick Wilder

Elektra EKL 18 (Mono) - Matrix JH 522 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1

The Bold Princess Royal

The Romantic Pirate

Henry Martyn

The Female Warrior

Captain Kidd

Side 2

The Female Smuggler

Bold Manning

High Barbaree

The Flying Cloud

10-inch album.

Songs of the Abbaye — Gordon Heath and Lee Payant

Elektra EKL 19 (Mono) - Matrix JH 523 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Leonard Ripley and Jac Holzman

Engineering: Leonard Ripley

Recorded: Paris, December 27-28 1953

Side 1

Another Man Done Gone

Chanson de la Mariée

The Youth of the Heart

Black Girl

I Wash My Face

Side 2

Big Rock Candy Mountain

Jacob's Ladder

J'ai un Long Voyage a Faire

We Will Break Bread Together

Wandering

10-inch LP.

Russian Folksongs — Hillel Raveh

Elektra EKL 20 (Mono) - Matrix JH 524 A/B

Released: 1954

Side 1

Krai ty moi

O Vol'gye i Mikulye

Nochenka

Solntse vsxodit i zaxodit

Tuman styelyet po dolinye

Side 2

Vniz po matushkye po Volgye

Ex, tumany

Burlatskaya Volzhskaya

Dubinushka

Ei, uxnyem

10 inch LP. With Anatoly Malukoff (guitar). The name is sometimes misspelled as Raven in listings but Hillel Raveh was to appear again on Elektra ... on EKL 171, 'A Concert with Hillel and Aviva'. Curiously, the sleeve notes and booklet translations are credited to 'Mrs Anatoly Malukoff' rather than giving her own first name.

Folk Songs - Once Over Lightly — Alan Arkin

Elektra EKL 21 (Mono) - Matrix JH 525 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1

A Knave is a Knave

Kisses Sweeter than Wine

Crawdad Song

Tom With-a-Grin

Colorado Trail

The Mad Count

Side 2

So Early in the Morning

Tobacco Union

I'm Gonna Marry in the Fall

Great Grand-dad

Lavender Cowboy

Ann Boleyn

10-inch album. An alternative title for this album was 'Folksongs (and 2 1/2 that aren't) Once over Lightly' and the label adds 'Alan Arkin sings 'em, plays guitar too!'.

Courting Songs — Jean Ritchie and Oscar Brand

Elektra EKL 22 (Mono) - Matrix JH 526 A/B

Released: 1954

Side 1

Hey, Little Boy

I Wonder When I Shall be Married

My Love is a Rider

The Keys of Canterbury

A Young Man Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn

Hog Drivers

Side 2

Lazy John

Aunt Sal's Song

Kansas Boys

My Good Old Man

Paper of Pins

No, Sir

10-inch album. With Phil Raiguel on Guitar, Banjo & Fiddle.

Nova Scotia Folk Music — Various Artists

Elektra EKL 23 (Mono) - Matrix JH 527 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Engineering: Diane Hamilton

Recorded: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Side 1

Funmakers

The 79th Farewell to Gibraltar

My Ain House

Ceilidh (Party)

The Sailor's Love Song

Lullaby

Mouth Music

Piping

Marquis of Huntley

The Sean Truibbas

Neils Harbor

My Frog Went A-Courtin'

Oh, Birdie Tell

Side 2

Milling Songs

Boat Song

Though I Sailed in my Ignorance

Ingonish Beach

Haste to the Wedding

Speed the Plow

Soldier's Joy

Barra Glen

My Young Maid

In the Glen Where I Was Young

Psalms

121st Psalm

10-inch album. Diane was a member of the Guggenheim family, working under a pseudonym. This set of field recordings (recorded on tape) consists of solo and group singing (in Gaelic, English and 'mouth music'), pipe and fiddle. This disc dates from the time when Diane funded and set up Tradition Records with Paddy Clancy (of the Clancy Brothers) although my guess is it was completed before the new label was set up, and hence is on Elektra.

In 1955 Diane travelled to Ireland and taped the first set of Irish traditional music to be recorded actually in Ireland. This was issued on Tradition under the title 'The Lark in the Morning'.

Sin Songs - Pro and Con — Ed McCurdy

Elektra EKL 24 (Mono) - Matrix JH 528 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1: Pro

The Jolly Boatsman

How Happy is She

I Once had Virtue

The Gambler's Song

The Good Boy's Song

Good Old Mountain Dew

Rye Whiskey

Side 2: Con

Tobacco is an Indian Weed

Three Pretty Fair Maids

Young People Who Delight in Sin

Poor Polly, the Mad Girl

John Adkin's Farewell

Gambling on the Sabbath Day

An Address for all Concerning Death

10-inch album. In the sleeve notes Ed writes: "I have led a rather varied and active life - and for various reasons consider myself well qualified to sing about SIN".

Kentucky Mountain Songs — Jean Ritchie

Elektra EKL 25 (Mono) - Matrix JH 529 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1

Cedar Swamp

Nottamun Town

The Hangman Song

Sister Phoebe

False Sir John

Dulcimer Pieces: Shady Grove, Old King Cole, Skip to my Lou

Side 2

Batchelor's Hall

The Girl I Left Behind

Jemmy Taylor-O

Killy Krankie

The Lonesome Dove

Old Woman and Pig

The Little Sparrow

Goin' to Boston

10-inch album. Another Elektra-Stratford Record Corp disc.

Old Airs from Ireland, Scotland and England — Susan Reed

Elektra EKL 26 (Mono) - Matrix JH 530 A/B

Released: 1954

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1

At the Foot of Yonders Mountain

The Pretty Girl Milking Her Cow

The Leprechaun

He Moved Through the Fair

Bendemeer's Stream

Irish Famine Song

Wraggle Taggle Gypsies

Side 2

Seventeen Come Sunday

The Foggy Dew

I Know My Love

Must I Go Bound

Wailie, Wailie

The Boreens of Derry

10-inch album.

Goin' Down the Road — Clarence Cooper

Elektra EKL 27 (Mono) - Matrix JH 531 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1

St James Infirmary

Waterboy

Erie Canal

Motherless Child

Side 2

Old Kentucky

Careless Love

Go Where I Send You

Darlin'

Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad

10-inch album.

Flamenco Guitar Solos — Jim Fawcett

Elektra EKL 28 (Mono) - Matrix JH 532 A/B

Released: 1955

Engineering: Leonard Ripley

Side 1

Alegrias Rosas

Soleares

Granadinas

Side 2

Recuerdos de la Alhambra (Tarrega)

Danza Mora

Alegrias para Baile

Farruca

Jim Fawcett (an American stationed with the US armed forces in Germany at the time) was not credited on the sleeve or label. In the booklet, Jac Holzman and Leonard Ripley explain that they had been advised that some people just wouldn't 'tolerate' flamenco played by an American. They considered giving him a Spanish-sounding pseudonym but decided instead to limit his credit to a mention in the booklet. In fact, Fawcett had been taught by a family of Spanish gypsies who lived in America: the only way he could find a teacher appropriate to his ability. He appeared on (AFAIK) one other LP, 'Dos Flamencos' on Liberty with Niño Marvino released in 1960; but here he does seem to have used a pseudonym, calling himself Jaime Grifo. (Ref flamenco discography: www.guitarist.com ) 10 inch LP.

Encores from the Abbaye — Gordon Heath and Lee Payant

Elektra EKL 29 (Mono) - Matrix JH 533 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Leonard Ripley

Recorded: Paris

Side 1

Hill an' Gully (G+L)

Au Clair de la Lune (G+L)

The Foggy, Foggy Dew (G)

The Spinning Wheel (L)

Side 2

Le Roy a Fait Battre Tambour (G+L)

En Revenant de Versailles (G+L)

Scarborough Fair (G)

Linstead Market (G)

L'occasion Manquée (L)

10-inch LP. The recording equipment mentioned on the sleeve for this LP is different to that specified for the earlier Abbaye disc so these must be later sessions.

Festival in Haiti — Jean Léon Destiné and Ensemble

Elektra EKL 30 (Mono) - Matrix JH 534 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Engineering: Jac Holzman

Side 1

Déclaration Paysanne (Meringue)

Pétro-Quita (Drum Rhythms)

Shango (Invocation)

Pennywhistle Fantasie

Solé Oh! (Invocation-Yanvalou)

Side 2

Mérangue

Macaya Gimbo (Work Song)

Dié, Dié, Dié (Invocation-Zepaules)

Mascaron-Pignitte (Carnival Rhythms)

Ayanman Ibo (Ibo Rhythm)

10-inch album. While the labels refer to the 'ensemble', the cover is a little more forthcoming and credits Ti-Roro, Alphonse Cimber and others.

French Troubador Songs of the 12th and 13th Centuries — Yves Tessier

Elektra EKL 31 (Mono) - Matrix JH 535 A/B

Released: September 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1: 12th Century

Estampie

No Sap Chantar

Lan Can

A l'Entrée d'Esté

Cil qui d'Amor

Pax in Nomine

Pastourelle

Side 2: 13th Century

O Dame, O Dame

Aisi com es Sobronrada

Chanson de Croisade

Ma Vièle

Can vei l'Alauzeta

Reis Glorios

10-inch LP. Mildred Clary plays occasional lute. Tracks also used on EKL 221 although some of the titles are given slightly differently.

Folksongs of Israel — Theodore Bikel

Elektra EKL 32 (Mono) - Matrix JH 536 A/B

Released: 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Side 1

Dodi Li

Mi Barechev

Hechalil

Ptsach Bazemer

Karev Yom

Shech Abrék

Side 2

Sissoo Vessimchoo

El Ginat Egoz

Shomer Mah Milel

Hana'ava Babanot

Ana Pana' Dodech

Shim'oo Shim'oo

Lyla Lyla

10-inch album. This disc marks the start of a long and fruitful collaboration between Jac Holzman and Theo Bikel. Bikel was well-known as an actor but his talent for languages and natural showmanship gave him a substantial parallel career as a singer. This was his first recording and Jac Holzman tells of first hearing him at during a 'pass-the-guitar-around' at a party and eventually persuading him to record. This disc appears with both 'calligraphy' and 'atom' label designs and with extra songs added this disc was reissued as EKL 132.

Theo almost book-ends Elektra's folk era since the final 300-series album (326 - 'Songs of the Earth') was by him with the Pennywhistlers.

Elektra Playback System Calibration Record —

Elektra EKL 35 (Mono) - Matrix DBH T4X (Both sides)

Released: 1956

Production: Jac Holzman

Engineering: David Hancock

1,000 cps for Level

Pauses at 20,000 ... 1875 cps

Pauses at 2,000 ... 187.5 cps

Pauses at 200 ... 18.75 cps

1,000 cps for level

10-inch record from the days when Herz were 'cycles per second'. Only 1500 discs were produced with 500 being run from each stamper to ensure quality. The two sides were identical apart from the colour of the print on the label so that as one became worn the other could be used instead.

AFAIK, this is one of only two 10-inch albums to appear with an 'Atom' label design as well as the more usual 'Caligraphy: the other is the Theo Bikel LP EKL 32.

The Story of John Henry / Ballads, Blues and Other Songs — Josh White

Elektra EKL 701 (Mono) - Matrix JH 701 A/B/C/D

Released: July 1955

Production: Jac Holzman

Disc 1: The Story of John Henry

The Story of John Henry

Disc 2: Ballads, Blues and Other Songs

Side 1

Black Girl

Free and Equal Blues

Live the Life

Sam Hall

Side 2

Where Were You Baby

Delia's Gone

Run, Mona, Run

You Don't Know My Mind

Double 10-inch album, John Henry takes up both sides of one of the two discs. Later issued as a single 12-inch disc on EKL 123.